Doctor in Franklin: Our brains are wired for addiction

FRANKLIN - Addiction is a disease that, because it involves some of the oldest parts of the brain, is exceptionally difficult to root out, a physician told a local audience Thursday.

Dr. Ruth Potee - who is the medical director of the Franklin County House of Correction and has worked with the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and North Quabbin - spoke at the Franklin High School auditorium that night at the invitation of the Support for Addicts and Families by Empowerment (SAFE) Coalition. She went into the roots of addiction and discussing how it affects developing adolescents.

Potee said addiction is rooted in a part of the brain - the reward center - that helped human ancestors survive.

"Our ancestors were very good at two specific behaviors: they were compulsive, and they were perseverators," she said. "These are fabulous behaviors when it comes to survival, but they're tricky behaviors when you're dealing with substance abuse disorders."

She said the brain evolved to give excess dopamine to reward a behavior - for example, finding and eating a fuel-rich food.

"In the brain's reward center, there's a spike of dopamine to remind itself that a behavior needs to be repeated," she said.

Drugs, Potee said, send dopamine levels soaring far beyond the typical range, but also trigger a reaction within the brain.

"When the brain sees these levels, it says, 'Holy smokes, something's wrong'" and works to get rid of the dopamine, she said. "With an addict, they wake up every morning with a new (lower) dopamine level... it makes it hard to wake up."

A major problem, Potee said, is the stigma attached to addiction. She contrasted the level of care a heart attack victim would receive against that of someone undergoing a heroin overdose. The heart attack victim, she said, would receive nitroglycerin, beta blockers and aspirin; would be given a quintuple bypass; and receive about eight weeks of continuing treatment. The addict would be taken to the hospital for resuscitation, but would then likely be handed a phone number and sent out the door.

She said lifestyle choices factor into both conditions, but one is given a much higher degree of care.

"We have to start recognizing that addiction is a real disease," she said.

Delaying adolescents' exposure to drugs, Potee said, can drastically reduce the risk of them becoming addicts. About 99 percent of addicts, she estimated, start using drugs or alcohol before they turn 24.

Thankfully, she said, most children are opting to avoid these substances.

"Our kids are making some of the best decisions we've ever seen," she said, adding that the smoking rate was at historic lows.

The exception, Potee said, is marijuana use. She said that, despite the perception that marijuana is harmless, its active ingredients can disturb the natural development of the brain. She expressed concern about the recently passed marijuana legalization effort, saying highly potent productions and "edibles" could end up in the hands of children.

Potee said, though there is increased attention toward addiction, much more must be done.

"The disease is still terrible, and the drugs are getting worse," she said.

Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-634-7546 or mgleason@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.